"I called quite a few clubs. I had no idea the Orioles had a vacancy at first base," said Shelby, who will replace Sam Mejias and also work with the club's outfielders. "Dave called me and made me feel like I was a part of the staff from the first time I talked to him. He had me so convinced that I was an Oriole that I wound up turning down a couple of jobs before I got this one. We're ready to go to work. This is exciting."

Trembley, intent on calling upon the organization's winning past, talked to several former Orioles about joining his staff, including B.J. Surhoff and Mike Bordick, and was pleased when Shelby became available. Shelby, 49, who played parts of 11 seasons in the Orioles organization and was on the 1983 World Series-winning team, was encouraged to seek other job opportunities after Pirates manager Jim Tracy was fired earlier this month.

Also, the organization added a new face, Lee MacPhail, who will be named the assistant to president of baseball operations. Although some will cry 'nepotism', at this point, nothing else has worked, so might as well give him a shot.

More info (Baltimore Sun): Lee MacPhail IV, a 38-year-old who was born and raised in Baltimore, spent last season as a pro scout with the Minnesota Twins. MacPhail worked with the Orioles from 1986 to 1995, starting as a public relations intern before ultimately serving as Orioles assistant director of player development and scouting under Doug Melvin.

He followed Melvin to the Texas Rangers in 1996 when he was an assistant to the GM. He also spent two seasons as the Cleveland Indians scouting director. After scouting for the Twins for three years, MacPhail spent five years in scouting and administrative capacities for the Montreal/Washington franchise before returning to Minnesota.

Also, the Orioles hired Brian Graham as a special assignment coach for the minor leagues.

It looks like the culture change is taking shape, and at this point change is good. It's been ten years of losing and we might as well turn a new leaf and see what comes of it.

As well, there will be more hires and more changes to come, including hiring a top level guy who'll have a huge role in determining talent and personnel decisions. When the calendar page flips into November, there should be moves on the roster side, including what to do with Tejada and other players.

Roch Kubatko has more on the developments along with some opinions off the off-season in his blog, Roch Around the Clock...